No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
- John Donne
“Somewhere along the line people have been fooled into believing that life is supposed to be easy. I often work 12+ hour days, and there are weeks when I work 7 days. I perform my own workout at the crack of dawn. Do I enjoy waking up at 4AM? Not really, but I get it done. I have a wife and son, with another on the way next month. I also have dogs, house work, work in the yard, etc. I’m beyond busy. Oh well, that’s life. I won’t cry about it and feel bad for myself. I won’t rush to the local fast food restaurant. I cook much of my food ahead of time. I make time. I find a way. Most people aren’t trying to make time. They aren’t making an effort.
“We need to stop making excuses for others. People need to stop feeling bad for themselves. Life is tough. That’s a fact. There are good times and bad times. There are action takers and action fakers. There are ultra busy professionals who make time for fitness, while others don’t. We all have options, and we all make our own decisions. If someone has made poor decisions, I won’t sugarcoat it and console them with more excuses.”
- Ross Enamait
“There is no failure for the man who realizes his power, who never knows when he is beaten; there is no failure for the determined endeavor; the unconquerable will. There is no failure for the man who gets up every time he falls, who rebounds like a rubber ball, who persists when everyone else gives up, who pushes on when everyone else turns back.”
— Orison Swett Marden (1850-1924) Founder of Success magazine.
“I was lucky to have the right heroes. Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you how you’ll turn out to be. The qualities of the one you admire are the traits that you, with a little practice, can make your own, and that, if practiced, will become habit-forming.”
- Warren Buffett
“Know this: When one of your coaches is asking for perfection (or damn near it), there is an unwritten agreement that it may not happen immediately. We understand this, but believe (truly) that over time you are capable of developing beyond your current standard. The coach’s job is to re-inforce the things you know that you know, remind you of the things you forget you know, and teach you the things you didn’t know you didn’t know…all you have to do is fight for it. The process is the important part of this journey, and part of that process is fighting for perfection. None of us will ever attain perfection in many of the skills we practice, but merely get closer to mastery. The struggle is where the learning is and shouldn’t be approached or dismissed lightly. It is your responsibility to truly want to improve no matter what your current skill level. So enjoy the process, enjoy the road, but most of all enjoy the struggle! Even if it’s not perfect, fight for it!”
- Adrian Bozman, CrossFit San Francisco
“The difference between ‘involvement’ and ‘commitment’ is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was ‘involved’, the pig was ‘committed’.”
- unknown
“We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.”
- Anais Nin
“We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.”
- Frank Tibolt
“I personally am holding out for the day when tall, over 40 guys with bad knees, a low pain tolerance, a wishy washy attitude about training and winning, a 40 metre sprint time of 5.5 seconds or more, and a vertical jump of less than 20 inches gets to go head to head just with one another. Now there’s a class I might be able to dominate …
… there is no questioning in the sport realm, CrossFit is unfair. The unfairness is everywhere, and it is exactly like all of life in that respect. So I suggest - for the sake of intellectual integrity and sanity, and for a bit of common ground on which we can all stand - that we just get over it.”
CrossFit Journal #72, Paul “Apolloswabbie” Eich
“In nature there are neither rewards or punishments - there are consequences.”
- Robert G. Ingersoll
